Display device



Feba 22, 1944.

L.l BROWN.

K DISPLAYl DEVIE :Filed Feb. 21. 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet J.

Patented Feb. 22, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Chromy, District of Columbia.

Application February 21, 1941, Serial No. 380,049

4 Claims.

This invention relates to display devices generally. More particularly this invention relates to display devices of the type having a movable sheet or web bearing the names of streets and cities and signals, instruction and advertising matter if desired, adapted to be selectively displayed to indicate automatically the stops of the street car, bus, train or like vehicle carrying same as said vehicle moves over a predetermined route.

An object of this invention is toprovide a display device having an automatically movable sheet or web carrying information of interest to persons riding a street car, bus, train or like vehicle, said display device having means associated therewith for correlating the movement of the sheet or Web with the movement of the vehicle so that the desired information is displayed to the passengers at the desired time and interval.

Another object of this invention is to provide a display device on a public passenger vehicle for automatically indicating the stops of said vehicle well in advance of said stops, said display device being actuatable by means of an electric motor controlled by switches associated with the display device.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a display device for-indicating the stops of a passenger vehicle, said display device including a sheet having the names of the stop streets thereon and being adapted to be rolled from one roller to another by an electrically controlled motor, said sheet having means associated therewith for stopping the movement thereof well in advance of the arrival of the vehicle at the next stop street to display the identity of the next stop street for a suflicient interval of time to permit the passengers to signal the operator to stop the vehicle at the desired stop street.

A further object of this invention is to provide a passenger vehicle stop indicator consisting of a display sheet or web adapted to be reeled from one roll to another, said sheet or web having means provided therewith for reversing the movement thereof when the passenger vehicle has reached the end of its route.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the -art to which it relates from the following specification and drawings.

In accordance with this invention I provide a display device for passenger vehicles to indicate the next stop street. My display device is automatic in operation when used on street cars, trolley busses, trains and the like, however, it

may be used as a semi-automatic indicator for motor busses operating on roadways. The names of the stop streets are placed upon an elongated sheet that is adaptedto be rolled from one reel upon another. The reels are selectively motor driven and contactcrs controlled by the sheet are employed to control the interval during which the sheet is reeled once the reeling is started. For this purpose I provide a starting switch which is actuated each time by trips positioned at desired intervals on one of the rails or adjacent to the third rail or adjacent to the trolley. A magnetically or inductively actuated trip for operating the starting switch also may be used if desired.

Other features of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following specification and the drawings in which, briey;

Fig. l is Aa view in front elevation showing the apparatus of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the gears and clutch for selectively driving either one of the reels;

Fig. 4 s a sectional View of the electrical contacts controlled by the elongated sheet;

Fig. 5 is a View of the rail switch;

Fig. 6 is a diagram of connections, and Fig. rI is a detailed view of the clutch shifting gear.

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference numeral I0 designates a cabinet or housing provided with a side member I I and an upright member I2. Bearings I3, I4, I5 and I6 for the reels I1 and I8 are supported by the members II and I2. The bearings I3 and I4 are spring biased.

so that the reels II and I8 may be removed and other reels substituted as desired. An elongated sheet or web I9 of paper, cloth or other suitable flexible material is carried by the reels Il and I8, one end of said sheet being attached to one of the reels and the other end being attached to the other of the reels. The names of the stops of the passenger vehicle are printed or painted upon or perforated into or attached to the sheet I9 so that the stop name brought into view through a suitable window in the front of the cabinet housing may be illuminated by the light from the lamp 20. This lamp 20 may be of the ordinary incandescent type such as used in showcase lighting or it may be of the fluorescent type and in either case different color lights may be employed.

A small motor 2| is employed for driving the reels I1 and I8 and for this purpose a small worm gear 22 is attached to the shaft of this motor. This worm gear is in engagement with the worm wheel 23 which is keyed to the shaft 24. A clutch member 25 is slidably keyed to the shaft 7.24 and this clutch member is provided with pins 25 and Z9, pin 29 being adapted to engage the pin 21 of the gear 39 and pin 28 being adapted to engage the pin 29 of the small pinion gear 5I. A lever 32 pivotally supported on the member i2 by the pivot 33 is employed for shifting the clutch 25 so that either the gear 99 or the pinion 3| may be driven by the motor 2E. The chain 34 engages the gear 39 and a substantially larger gear 35, the latter gear being fixed to the shaft of the reel bearing I5. A small pulley 35 which is adjustable is provided for the purpose of tightening the chain 34. The pinion gear 3| meshes with a substantially larger gear 3i which is attached to the shaft of the reel bearing I ii. The gear reduction ratio between the gears 55 and 35 and the gears 3| and 31 is approximately the same although it is obvious it need not be the same.

When the clutch 25 is in the position shown in Fig. 3 the motor 2| is connected to drive the reel I8, and consequently the sheet I9 is wound on this reel until the clutch 25 is shifted so that the pin 25 thereof engages the pin 21 of the gear 3E! so that the reel I1 is driven. This clutching shifting operation is accomplished automatically through the use of the arm 38, the end 39 of which is connected to the end 45; of the lever 32 by means of the link; di. An auxiliary arm 42 is pivoted to the member 52 by means of the pivot 43 and this auxiliary arm joins the clutch shifting arm 99 as shown. A catch 13 is attached to the arm 33 by means of a suitable set screw. This catch has an arcuate surface for riding on the surface of the sheet i9 and it also has a pair of notches 45 and 45, the notch 44 being at the top and the notch 45 being at the bottom of said catch, as shown in Fig. 7. Small pin shaped members such as shown at 46 (Fig. 1) are provided on the sheet I9 for engaging the catch 43 in the notches 45 and 45 for the purpose of shifting the clutch 25. The pin shaped member 49 (Fig. l) may be attached to the sheet in different ways or it may even be an integral part of the sheet formed by cutting a slot into said sheet and re-inforcing or stiien ing the edge of the 'slot intended to engage the notch of the catch 13. The operation o1" this gear shift will be more fully explained in the ex planation of the operation-of the complete unit.

The motor 2I is connected to a suitable source of current supply through a rail switch 41 as shown in Fig. 6. A form of this rail switch is illustrated in Fig. 5. An arm 48 supported on the member 49 by means of bearings 59 is connected to the switch member 41a by means of an insulation link 5 I. The end of the arm 49 is positioned to engage the spring biased catch 52 attached to the rail 53 so that when the street car or train proceeding in the direction of the arrow engages the catch it trips the arm 49 and the contacts of the switch 41 are closed for an instant. Thecatch 52 may be made in various ways; however, the form illustrated consists of a iiat piece of iron or steel mounted crosswise of the rail 53 in a suitable slot which may be the rail joint. This trip 52 is spring biased so that when the flange of the street car or train Wheel passes over it, it is deflected completely into the slot and does not extend upward so that the wheel of the street car or trainm-ay pass lil over it without difficulty. It is of course obvious that other forms of trip may be used. For example apiece of iron or steel may be welded on the side of the rail to catch the member 48. An electro-magnetic trip also may be used and in that case a small armature such as a piece of iron or steel which may or may not be magnetized is attached to the rail or other places along the track to energize a, small coil carried by an arm such as arm 48. The coil would in this case have connections to a suitable relay and current supply which would actuate the contacts 41 to close same when the coil is energized or when the magnetic eld of the coil is momentarily distorted as by the aforesaid piece of iron or steel.

A suitable time delay device such as a dash-pot 54 is attached to the arm 41a of the switch 41 and insulated therefrom. This dash-pot functions to maintain the contacts 41 closed for a suicient interval of time to permit the motor 2l to advance the sheet I9 a sufficient distance to clear and close the contacts 55. The switch 41 may be referred to as the starting switch and the switch 55 the stopping switch. The switch 41 is a form of momentary contact switch and functions to start the motor 2l so that the sheet I9 is advanced a short distance suiicient to pull the insulation 55 from between the contacts of the switch 55. The switch 55 is then closed through the elongated slot 58 cut into the sheet I9 and the motor thereafter is energized through this switch until it is interrupted by the next insulation segment 51.

An auxiliary contact 59 connected across the contacts 55 is provided as a. cut-out when desired on the other edge of the sheet I9 for the purpose of maintaining the motor 2I running even when the switch 55 is interrupted by segments such as segment 51. This is accomplished by cutting a hole 69 into the sheet I9 opposite the segment 51 so that the switch 59 may be closed when the switch 55 is open. Thus it may be desired to omit certain stops when running in one direction. One of the elements of the switch 59 is mechanically connected to the clutch 25 by means of the arm 6I so that this switch element may be shifted with respect to the sheet I9 so that in one direction of travel of the sheet I9 the circuit through the switch 59 is closed through the hole 69, but in the other direction of travel of the sheet I9 the switch 59 is not closed through this' hole 69 since the aforesaid element of the switch is shifted laterally with respect to the hole. in this way the indication of the stop streets printed on the sheet I9 may be controlled and streets originally indicated as stop streets may cease to be so indicated without great diiculty.

The switch element of the Switch 55 on the outside of the sheet I9 is pivotally supported and spring biased at 62 upon the cross member I 2a (Fig. 4). The movable contact of the switch 59 is supported on the cross piece I2a by means of the collar 53 and the member 64. An auxiliary switch adapted to be closed by the street car conductor, motorman, bus driver or other operator of the passenger vehicle, is connected across the rail switch 41 so that the operator may initiate the operation of this device by pulling the cord 6G in cases where the switch 41 is vinoperative or is not provided on the device. Furthermore a suitable trip may be provided adjacent to the trolley wire or adjacent to the third rail but insulated therefrom, for the purpose of tripping the switch operating arm 48. Furthermore a. buzzer 61 may be connected across the motor 2l to give a signal when the stop sign is being adjusted to attract attention thereto. If desired this buzzer may be connected in series with either the contacts 41 or 55 to operate only when these contacts are closed.

The operation of this invention is as follows: The street car, train, trolley car and like passenger vehicle carrying the display apparatus also carries the lswitch mechanism 49 and trip 48. The route over which the vehicle travels is provided with a plurality of trip devices 52 positioned at desired intervals and as the wheels of the vehicle pass over the trip device 52 the wheel flanges of the vehicle depress the catch 52 into the rail slot provided to receive said catch. A spring is provided to this catch 52 and as soon as the wheel flange passes over the catch this spring forces the catch up so that it is in position to engage the member 48 as the vehicle moves on in the direction of the arrow. This delects the member 48 back and closes the switch 41 which is linked to the arm 48 by the member 5|. The dash-pot 54 holds the contacts 41 closed for a suflicient length of time to permit the motor 2l to start and advance the sheet I9 sufficiently to clear the contacts 55 of the insulation segment 56. If the sheet I9 is of conducting material the insulation segments 55-51, etc., must be attached thereto at desired spaced positions to interrupt the switch 55 and stop the motor 2| and sheet I9 at the proper vehicle stop designations carried by the sheet.

After the switch 55 has cleared the insulation segment 56 the motor is energized through this switch, the latter switch being connected in parallel with the starting switch 41; and the motor keeps operating until the switch 55 is opened by the next insulation segment 51. The sheet I9 is advanced to indicate the next vehicle stop when the circuit of theswitch 55 is opened by the segment 51.

When it is desired to reverse the direction of travel of the sheet I9 the clutch 25 is operated as explained above and the direction of travel of sheet is reversed. This is done at the ends of the sheet although it may also be done at intermediate points by inserting the members 46 at such points as reversal of the sheet is desired.

What I claim is:

l. A stop indicator adapted to be carried by public passenger vehicles and the like, comprising: an elongated sheet of flexible material, a pair of reels for said elongated sheet, a motor for driving said reels selectively, said sheet having the names of stops along a predetermined public service passenger route thereon, an electric circuit for controlling the operation of said motor, a rst switch for said circuit, a plurality of trips positioned along the route of said passenger vehicle at desired intervals for actuating said rst switch for closing the circuit of said motor for driving one of said reels to bring the name of the next stop on said elongated sheet into View, a second switch for said circuit, a rst line of spaced stop means on said elongated sheet for controlling said second switch to stop said motor when said next stop name is brought into view, a third switch for said circuit, and a second line of running means on said elongated sheet positioned in register with certain of said stop means of said first line and adapted for controlling said third switch and causing said motor to continue running notwithstanding said certain ones of said stop means.

2. A stop indicator adapted to be carried by public passenger vehiclesl and the like, comprising: an elongated sheet of flexible insulating material, a pair of reels for said elongated sheet, a motor for driving said reels selectively, said sheet having the names of stops along a predetermined public service passenger route thereon, an electric circuit for controlling the operation of said motor, a first switch for said circuit, road means positioned along the route of said passenger vehicle at desired intervals for actuating said first switch for closing the circuit of said motor for driving one of said reels to bring the name of the next stop on said elongated sheetl into view, and a second switch for said circuit, said second switch having a contact positioned above and a contact positioned below said sheet, said elongated sheet having a first line of portions thereof in the path of said second switch cut away to permit said second switch to complete the circuit of said motor to permit said motor to operate and bring said next stop name into view, said sheet having other portions thereof in said first line intact to open said second switch when said next stop name is brought into view and a third switch for said circuit, said elongated sheet having a second line -of apertured portions thereof cut away in register with certain of said intact portions of said first line, for completing the circuit of said motor notwithstanding said certain ones of said intact portions to permit said motor to continue to operate.

3. A stop indicator adapted to be carried by public passenger vehicles and the like, comprising: an elongated sheet of flexible material, a pair of reels for said elongated sheet, a motor, a clutch connected between said motor and said reels for driving said reels selectively, said sheet having the names of stops along a predetermined public service passenger route thereon, an electric circuit for controlling the operation of said motor, an arm for shifting said clutch, a catch carried by said sheet for actuating said arm to shift said clutch and reverse the direction of said sheet, a first switch for said circuit, road means positioned along the route of said passenger vehicle at desired intervals for actuating said first switch for closing the circuit of said motor for driving one of said reels to bring the name of the next stop on said elongated sheet into view, a second switch for said circuit, spaced stop means on said elongated sheet for actuating said second switch to stop said motor when said next stop name is brought into View, a third switch for said circuit mounted selectively displaceable into either one of two positions transversely with reference to said elongated sheet, link means connecting said clutch to said third switch for displacing said third switch into one of its said two positions when said clutch is shifted, and spaced auxiliary control means colinearly positioned on said elongated sheet in lengthwise register with desired ones of said stop means, said third switch being adapted in one only of its selective positions to register with said auxiliary control means and be actuated thereby to retain said circuit closed over intervals corresponding to passage of said desired ones of said stop means, whereby desired ones of said stop indications may be omitted for operation in one direction and retained for operation in the opposite direction.

4. A stop indicator adapted to be carried by public passenger vehicles and the like, comprising: an elongated sheet of flexible material, a pair of reels for said elongated sheet, a motor for driving said reels selectively, said sheet having the names of stops along a predetermined public service passenger route thereon, an electric circuit for controlling the operation of said motor, a first switch for said circuit, control means for actuating said first switch for closing the circuit of said motor for driving one of said reels to bring the name of the next stop on said elongated sheet into View, a second switch for said circuit, a first line of spaced stop means on said elongated sheet for controlling said second switch to stop said motor when said next stop name is brought into view, a third switch for said circuit, and a second line of running means on said elongated sheet positiqned in register with certain of said stop means of said rst line and adapted for controlling said third switch and causing said motor to continue running notwithstanding said certain ones of said stop means.

LLOYD BROWN. 

